Rush Hour reboot: Lee is 'Asian Orlando Bloom' in exclusive new promo

Classical music and Orlando Bloom references rule in an exclusive new promo for CBS’s Rush Hour. The latest spot has the new generation of mismatched cops Lee and Carter flipping bad guys onto pool tables and hanging tight onto helicopters to the whimsical tune of Rossini’s “Thieving Magpie Overture.”

Premiering in late March, the rebooted series will follow the basic premise set up in the original movie trilogy: joke-cracking, highly emotional American cop Carter (then Chris Tucker, now Justin Hires) must team up with terse, by-the-book Chinese cop Lee (then Jackie Chan, now Jon Foo) to take down an international crime syndicate. The promo also gives us a glimpse at the series’ police captain, Lindsay Cole (Wendie Malick). The new series will follow Lee and Carter as they track down a group of Hong Kong smugglers who have stolen a large number of priceless statues.

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Although highly anticipated by fans of the franchise, the show received some criticism at a Television Critics Association panel, during which it was accused of portraying Asian and African-American stereotypes in its two lead characters. Hires defended his characterization of Carter by arguing that he is reflecting a part of himself: “It’s not just that it’s a stereotype; this is the reality of who I am as a person.” For his part, executive producer Bill Lawrence responded that the characters will grow as the series progresses: “We see, slowly and surely, the archetypes you see in the pilot [change].”

Rush Hour premieres on Thursday, March 31 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.